Lettuce and carrot crate liner



April 4 B. F. TAYLOR ET AL LETTUCE AND CARROT CRATE LINER 2Shgaeis-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 4, 1939 B. F. TAYLOR E1- AL v LETTUCE' ANDCARROT CRATE LINER April 7, 1942.

Fil ed Oct. 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet? .3. 73 Taylor W.-G Simmons PatentedApr. 7, 1942 LETTUCE AND CARROT CRATE LIN ER Benjamin Ferril Taylor andWilliam Glen Simmons, Salinas, Calif.

Application October 4, 1939, Serial No. 297,930

1 Claim.

This invention relates to shipping crates and more particularly to aliner for crates used in shipping perishable vegetables and the like.

The primary object of this invention resides in the provision of a linerfor vegetable shipping crates, particularly that type used in shippinglettuce and carrots, adapted to permit icing of v the vegetables packedin the crates and insulate the interior of the crate to the maximumdegree against the exterior atmosphere so as to reduce melting of theice to the minimum.-

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a liner forcrates, such as lettuce specification, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and pointed out in the appended claim and, while thisdisclosure depicts our present conception of the invention, the right isreserved to resort to such changes in construction and arrangement ofelements as come within thescope of the claim.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application Figure 1is'a plan view of a conventional vege-' table shipping crate showing itscover removed and the liner disposed therein with its flaps in closedposition.

and carrot shipping crates, adapted to be disposed in the crates priorto packing so crushed ice can be poured therein on top of the contentsthereof without spilling on the floor.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a linerfor lettuce and carrot shipping crates having its body portion extendedabove the top of the crate and adapted to be slit at certain points topermit folding thereof over the ice within the crate.

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of aliner for perishable vegetable shipping crates formed from, blank sheetsof Water-proof material, such as heavy waxed paper or the like, adaptedto be shipped in flat condition and set up in the crates prior topacking.

Aside from the foregoing objects this invention resides in theparticular construction of the elements forming the liner.

Among the many objects of this invention is the particular constructionof the bottom so as to completely cover the lower open corners of thecrates.

One of the salient features of this invention resides in the provisionof a liner for lettuce shipping crates having a certain area thereofprotruding from the top of the crate during packing thereof so as toprevent bruising of the top layer of the lettuce by the packer and whenthe lid is compressed into place for securing to the crate. v

Included among the important objects of this invention is the provisionof a liner, for lettuce shipping crates of the slat type, adapted toprotect the lettuce from damage by being partly pushed through the slatsduring compression of the contents of the crate while securing the 7cover thereon.

With these and other objects in view this invention resides in certainnovel features of construction and arrangement of elements to behereinafter more particularly set forth in' the Figure 2 is a side viewthereof showing certain parts broken away to better illustrate theassemblage thereof.

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical 7 sectional viewapproximately on'line 33 of Figure 1 showing the crate packed and openin full lines and closed in dotted lines.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the side and bottom in juxta-position.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank forming the side portion of theliner.

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the blank forming the bottom ofthe liner.

Figure 7 isa detail sectional view of a portion of the lower side of thecrate taken on line 'l! of Figure 2.

In the present illustration of this invention the numeral 5 designates,in general, a liner to be inserted in perishable vegetable shippingcrates before packing, such as those used in shipping lettuce andcarrots, and consists of a side portion 6 and a bottom portion 1.

The side portion 6 is preferably formed from an elongated sheet of heavybut flexible waterproof material, such as waxed paper or the like, andis scored along the lines 8 to form side and end members 9 and I0,having flaps 12 formed by scoring the material on the line H' andslitting it along lines l3.

Formed on one edge of the sheet of material is an extension equal inheight to the side and end members, the same forming a corner flap I5,as

by scoring the material on line M, to permit folding over the free endof the opposite side portion prior to inserting the liner in crates.

The bottom portion 1 is formed of a sheet of material similar to thatused in constructing the side portion 6 and has its corners cut out asat l6 and scored along the lines I! to provide sides I 8 and ends l9when folded, the former of which are preferably of greater width thanthe latter to completely cover the open areas indicated by the letter Abetween the lowermost side slats of the conventional crates indicated bythe letter C to prevent said sides from straightening out under pressurefrom the contents of the crate.

Prior to packing the crates the bottom I is folded to form a tray whichis disposed on the bottom thereof, whereupon the side portion '6 isfolded into substantially rectangular configuration and inserted withinthe crates with its lower end seated in the tray and its flap carryingportion protruding approximately two inches beyond the top of the crateas indicated by the letter T on the drawings. With the liner thusdisposed in the crates, lettuce, carrots or other varieties ofperishable vegetables are packed in the usual manner Without bruisingthe same leaving a space beyond the top of the crate and above the toplayer of the vegetables to accommodate the top layer of crushed ice, theprotruding sides of the liner also act to prevent spilling of thecrushed ice on the floor while being poured over the vegetables andduring compression of the contents of the crate prior to securing thecover thereon.

Subsequent to completely packing and icing the contents of the crates,the flaps are folded over the ice whereupon the usual crate cover isplaced thereon and nailed or otherwise secured to the crate aftercompressing the contents in the usual manner.

With this invention fully set forth it is manifest that a liner forperishable vegetable shipping crates is provided which will readilyperform the functions of its adoption and, through the simplicity ofconstruction thereof, it can be cheaply manufactured and shipped inknockdown condition for future assemblage by unskilled labor.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

The combination with a skeleton crate having vertically spaced end slatsdisposed inwardly of the crate and lower side and bottom slats disposedremote from its lower side corners, a tray formed of heavy waxedmaterial having up turned sides of greater height than its up turnedends, the former of which and adjacent portions of the bottom thereofclosing the spaces between the lower side and bottom slats of the cratewhile the latter of which bear against the vertical end slats, a linerformed of heavy waxed material disposed in the crate with its lower edgeresting in said tray against the sides and ends thereof with its upperportion extending above the top of the crate and flaps falling on theupper edge of the liner.

WILLIAM GLEN SIMMONS. BENJAMIN FERRIL TAYLOR.

